A new report highlights the use of e-cigarettes and warns of addiction among teens
A new report published by World Health Organization (WHO) indicates that the smoking It still affects one in five adults worldwide, causing millions of preventable deaths every year.
The document also provides for the first time estimates regarding the use of electronic cigarettes. According to the WHO, more than 100 million people worldwide use these devices. Around 86 million users are adults, most from wealthy countries, and 15 million are teenagers aged 13 to 15.
In countries with available data, young people are, on average, nine times more likely to use vaporizers than adults. “E-cigarettes are fueling a new wave of nicotine addiction,” Etienne Krug, director of WHO’s Department of Social Determinants, Health Promotion and Prevention, said in a statement.
According to Krug, these products are often advertised as a form of harm reduction, but in practice this is not the case. “They create dependency on children at an early age and put decades of progress at risk.”
Decades of progress
Between 2000 and 2024, the number of tobacco users globally decreased by approximately 180 million: from 1.38 billion to 1.2 billion.
Rates have steadily declined among both men and women, but women have led the reduction.
They reached the global goal five years ahead of schedule, reaching the goal of a 30% reduction in prevalence in 2020. The rate fell from 11% in 2010 to 6.6% in 2024, with the number of users increasing from 277 million to 206 million.
Men are only expected to reach the target in 2031. Currently, more than four in five tobacco users worldwide are men, just under 1 billion. Although male prevalence has fallen from 41.4% in 2010 to 32.5% in 2024, the pace of reduction is still slow, according to the WHO.
Recommendations for countries
In Brazil, an estimated 20.1 million are tobacco users and men are the majority.
The report places the country among the group of nations that are “on track” to reach the goal of the Global Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Noncommunicable Diseases, which established a 30% relative reduction in drug prevalence by 2025, compared to 2010. The estimate is that Brazil will see a 34% reduction.
“Millions of people are quitting or not even starting to use tobacco thanks to control efforts by countries around the world,” he points out Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesusdirector general of the WHO, in a press release.
He points out, however, that the tobacco industry has responded to this decline by launching new products, such as vaporizers and nicotine sachetsfocusing on the younger audience. “Governments must act faster and more firmly in implementing effective tobacco control policies,” he warns.
WHO calls on governments to strengthen tobacco control by implementing effective policies to reduce tobacco use and protect people from its harms.
The agency also emphasizes that it is necessary to close the gaps that allow the tobacco and nicotine industry to target children. It is also essential to increase taxes on these products, ban advertising and expand services that help users quit smoking.
“Nearly 20% of adults still use tobacco and nicotine products. We cannot relax now”, underlines in a note Jeremy Farrar, WHO Deputy Director-General for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. “The world has moved on, but only stronger and faster action can defeat the tobacco epidemic.”
Source: Terra
Ben Stock is a lifestyle journalist and author at Gossipify. He writes about topics such as health, wellness, travel, food and home decor. He provides practical advice and inspiration to improve well-being, keeps readers up to date with latest lifestyle news and trends, known for his engaging writing style, in-depth analysis and unique perspectives.
